This Summer is a busy one for CF:G and our Hack Your Career Talks are in full swing. Yesterday was our second event, kindly hosted by Just-Eat, one of the UK’s largest e-commerce sites. The event took the form of brief talks from 7 members of the Just Eat team, all from different departments. The aim is to demystify careers in tech, demonstrating that if you’re interested in the industry, a computer science degree isn't a nessesity.

After some networking and an abundance of Pizza, the evening kicked off with a talk from Kate Richardson, a software developer. Her own journey was a great example of how making the switch from non-tech to tech is perfectly possible, even after graduation. After listening to Kate, we were given an insight into a number of roles at Just Eat, with talks from..

Given the vast array of backgrounds, each talk gave a different perspective on Careers in Tech, and how to break into the scene. Whilst the Just Eat team all had different experiences, there were a few useful tips which cropped up in many of the talks. So for those of you that missed it, here’s a quick summary :Working with great people is important and makes work exciting. Experiment to find out what you love. You do better at what you love doing. Try to say yes to everything. Start-ups are exciting places to work- they are flexible and creative spaces. If you are not learning, it’s time for a change. Thank you so much to Just-Eat for hosting this event and a huge thank you to the speakers for sharing their advice and experience with us. To keep up to date with our latest courses and events, please sign up to our mailing list. We have two Hack Your Career Talks to go, so keep your eyes peeled for more information. The CF:G Team.

This week saw the one year anniversary of CodeFirst: Girls so we felt it only right to have a party! Our sponsors, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, very kindly invited us to celebrate in style, on their roof terrace.

With drinks flowing, sunny weather and beautiful views over London, it made for the perfect evening.

The celebration kicked off with talks from our Founder Alice Bentinck, and Christopher Dean,Head of FX, Emerging Markets and Europe Technology at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. We were also treated to talks from two of our 25 Ones to Watch, Mirium Keshani and Amelia Humpfress who both shared inspiring words and gave us their advice on breaking into to the Tech scene.

Whilst a celebration was certainly in order, the event also proved to be a great opportunity for the girls to network and discuss ideas. After 1 year of events, courses and hackathons, it's so exciting to see a community of like-minded girls, develop.

Thank you again to Bank of America Merrill Lynch for putting on such a fantastic event. With our Summer Plans well underway, CodeFirst:Girls are now looking forward to the next academic year, where we have some exciting plans for expansion. With new courses and events in the works, Year 2 is set to be an exciting one!To keep up to date with our latest plans, sign up to our mailing list here.

Anna Bance is the co-founder of GirlMeetsDress.com, a luxury fashion e-commerce site which allows customers to rent the latest fashion pieces for high-street prices. She answers our burning questions from what her greatest challenges have been to how she knew she had the right idea. Tell us about your journey prior to starting Girl Meets Dress? After completing my degree at The London College of Fashion, I worked at InStyle magazine, The Telegraph magazine, Harpers Bazaar, and then joined Hermes as UK PR Manager where I stayed for 3 years before launching Girl Meets Dress.

How did you know that Girl Meets Dress was the right idea?I knew it was just a matter of time before I started my own business. Something I had always wanted to do when the right idea came along. Launching a business is always going to have an element of risk, but I believed in the idea, my co-founder and the market potential. Designer dress rental allows women to wear a different designer dress for every occasion whilst not breaking the bank - the perfect retail cocktail for the customer which the fashion industry has been unable to provide until now.What has been your proudest moment?The biggest ones are yet to come I hope and 2014 has a lot of potential for exciting news for the business! I am really happy with the fact that we’ve created a fantastic product for all women to have their cinderella moment. We all need to feel amazing for life’s special moments and Girl Meets Dress democrazes fashion, enabling millions of women to afford luxury every day.What advice would you give to students who want start a start-up?

Although not 100% necessary, I recommend choosing an area that you know something about. There are exciting ways to pioneer every market, whichever field you love. Of course, you can learn about any new topic – but will you be able to compete with people with years of knowledge and expertise.

Find a Co-Founder with different skill sets to you. This is a brilliant way to launch without needing to hire a full team on day 1. If you can split the main areas of the business between you, then you can launch with minimal cost and test the product at market – which is the first step to seeing if there is demand.

Don’t over think it. There will never be a perfect time to leave your secure job, risk your salary decrease, take a chance on an idea which might not work – but what’s the worst that can happen? You’ll go back to your previous role until you come up with the next idea!

What has been your greatest challenge in starting GirlMeetsDress.com?When we started, ensuring we have a full team in place while bootstrapping was no easy feat. We were lucky to find so many hardworking and ambitious staff to stick with us and the vision.Becoming knowledgeable in so many different areas is challenging but it definitely helps to have 2 co-founders with complimentary and different skill sets. Fulfilment and logistics is an area which has to evolve and improve all the time as the company grows and orders increase. New processes and staff roles have to adapt to demand for the product to maintain efficiency.Looking back, if you could change one thing what would it be?My biggest mistake was not delegating certain areas soon enough in the early days. There are many things as a founder you get used to doing yourself, or think you can do it best. But it is important to trust, and let go.And finally.. what is your favourite dress?My current favourites for versatile party dresses to wear in the day and then straight out at night are Alice + Olivia and Rachel Zoe.